


Changeling's Rise

by Millicent_Dagworth



Category: Original Work
Genre: Action/Adventure, Dragons, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fantasy, Horror, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Spirit World, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-02-08 03:36:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21469423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Millicent_Dagworth/pseuds/Millicent_Dagworth
Summary: In the beginning, there were only Dragons...All her life, Sky left like she just had bad luck. She was kicked out onto the streets after her parents died, she was too weak to be a protector, and she never got enough food. But after an encounter with soldiers results in her death, Sky didn't expect to wake up. And she certainly didn't expect to be dragged into babysitting a mute child with a connection to a stone or have to deal with a spoiled, rich child while on the run from the Emperor, who will stop at nothing to have Sky killed. Again(Be warned that this book will contain strong language and violence as well as some sexual themes, which is why it is rated Mature)
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there! Millicent here! This isn't the first work that I've written, this will be the first story I've posted on Ao3. I would appreciate it if you would point out any mistakes I made. I do use Grammarly, but it is not a perfect system.  
Anyway, I will be trying to update this at least once a week (Sundays) but I can't guarantee it as this story is still a work in progress and I do go to college and work.  
Despite all of this, I hope you all enjoy Changeling's Rise!  
Caio!

There’s only one thing you should know about me: I love dragons. I always have. Nothing else in life has ever made me more excited than the thought of riding around on a dragon, burning the government buildings to the ground, and bathing in the blood of my enemies.  
I’m getting off-topic. I know you need more information than my love of dragons. In the interest of time, however, I will only give you some basic information. My name is Sky, pretty boring for someone like me. I also live on the streets like a good little nobody.  
No one ever paid me much attention, not unless they caught me stealing food. Then people would get angry and chase me, calling me names among other things. Usually, I’m able to get away long enough to get back to the safe house, which is more like an abandoned warehouse than a house.  
In my world, the only time you’re safe from murderers and kidnappers when you’re on the streets is to join a gang. A gang is like a regular gang, but we don’t get the money we get to survive another day. There was a war over supplies when there was a famine. Supposedly, it was so bad that there were rumors of cannibalism. After it was over, the groups decided that they needed a ‘code’ of sorts to prevent it from happening again. I was lucky enough to have a house and food when it was going on.  
That’s about where my luck ran out.  
Not long after the end of the famine, my mother died from a sickness that had a cure within the next month. My father was killed a few weeks afterward, by a prostitute who had been released from police custody. The crime she was suspected of? Murdering her clients who got handsy. The woman was convicted because of my father’s death. People kept telling me that I should be happy that my father had seen justice, but I wasn’t sure if I should be angry he was cheating on my mother or relieved that he didn’t get the chance to hurt anyone.  
Since I was too young to get a job and had no money, I lost the house pretty quickly. I tried to go to my other family members to have somewhere to stay. They didn’t want anything to do with someone like me. So I was kicked onto the streets, forced to fend for myself in the hopes that I would stay alive long enough to get a job and a home and live happily ever after.  
Yeah, no, they told me they wanted me to die. So I did the only thing I could think of at the time.  
I joined the gang that controlled the area closest to me. Now, anytime I see them, I flip them off. They get angry of course but they can’t do anything about it. Soldiers don’t really help the poor people who don’t pay their ‘paychecks’.  
My gang is named after one of the biggest companies in the world; MgRonalds. The story behind the name is that the founder was about to starve when he crossed paths with a manager of a store. The guy actually gave him a burger instead of calling the soldiers when he was caught stealing food. The manager was never heard from again, but the founder changed his name to McRonald and started the group.  
But I doubt you’re here for boring stories right? You’re here for action! Explosions! Death! Life-threatening situation! Correct? I'll go ahead and skip to my favorite part: Explosions.

Here’s a fun fact for all you kids out there: Bombs hurt. They hurt a LOT. So don’t play with your father’s C4 or your mother’s guns at home. You could die or worse.  
The only reason I came to this conclusion is because of the fact I had to jump out of a second-story window of a high-security warehouse as it exploded behind me, impaling me with several large pieces of shrapnel, all the while holding a very large, very valuable gem.  
All because someone couldn’t do their job. (That’s right, I’m looking at you, Gerald!)  
See I’m one of the best scavengers/thieves in the group. No one steals better than me if I do say so myself. I can pickpocket an entire crowd and no one would suspect a thing. And even if they do report it, I’m usually long gone by then.  
Well, I had just taken a wealthy ‘donation’ from a pompous asshole when I overheard a couple of people talking. I was going to ignore them, but they said some… uncivil things about women. I decided to rob him blind to teach him to earn respect for women. It seemed fair at the time. It seemed even fairer when I found information about an extremely valuable object on its way to the palace.  
It seemed less fair when the place was crawling with soldiers. It seemed even less fair when it was filled with explosives and the only valuable thing was a redstone about the size of my skull. The amount of trouble it would bring was not worth the number of units it would give me. I still grabbed it though, and of course, in doing so I set off the bombs. I only had thirty seconds before the whole warehouse exploded.  
The only way out was the window with a two-story drop onto hard concrete. It was either that or die by fire, blood loss, or dismemberment of the explodey kind. I choose the way that would least likely cause my death.  
This is where this story begins: Me jumping out of an exploding building. Like a badass.  
As soon as I hit the ground, I rolled onto my side to dodge some shrapnel and lessen the impact. Didn’t mean nothing was broken.  
I started to scramble forward to get as far away as possible from the burning building, only to get hit by the shockwave. It caused me to go sprawling a few meters away into a metal crate. This probably created a small fracture in my hand because moving it caused sharp pain. It wasn’t as bad as when I tried to put pressure on my broken ankle. As soon as even a little bit of pressure was put on it, white-hot pain raced up my leg. I would have screeched in pain, but I bit my lip so hard it bled.  
I was celebrating my escape when I heard the shouting of confused soldiers.  
“Fuck.” I cursed my life and the old gods above before dragging myself up. I began to run as best I could towards my planned escape.  
I had planned this for days: I’d pop in through a hole in the building next door, grab the valuables, and get out of there via my entrance like the underworld was on my heels. I thought that it was so great that I didn’t need a plan B!  
I was SO wrong in hindsight.  
I went to the hidden escape route, my body screaming in protest the whole time. I dove into the small hole as another explosion, much stronger, sounded behind me. I quickly covered up the hole to shield myself from the heat and leaned back on the opposite wall.  
“Fucking hell,” I grumbled. I rested a bit before checking on the object. It seemed to sparkle brightly, even though the room was barely lit. I had to admit, I really wanted to keep it. But my need to stay alive outweighed my greed for something shiny.  
After resting for a bit, the sound of footsteps could be heard. I tensed up, expecting some soldiers to come into view. Instead, a familiar mop of brown hair came bouncing into the room.  
“Sky!” It was Gerald, a fellow gang member I had brought along for protection. Usually the more athletic you were built, the more likely you were to be a protector. Protectors stayed with the group to guard them if soldiers came to take someone or if there were murderers around. Gerald was one of these people, only a slight newbie. So in order to break him in, I brought him along on my job.  
“Oh, gods you look terrible!” I laughed dryly.  
“Jumping out of an exploding building will do that.”  
“Exploding? That’s what that sound was?” He asked. See, anyone who had been with the group for a couple of years knew pretty much every sound ever made.  
“Oh yeah.”  
“Is anything broken?”  
“Probably an ankle.” I tested my arms. “Maybe a couple of sprains.”  
“Need help walking?”  
“Nah.” I stood up, leaning on the wall for support. We walked along for a bit. I kept one hand on the stone as we walked. Maybe it was the fact I almost died, but something didn’t quite feel right. Something felt off.  
I strained to see if I could hear something indicating an ambush. Only silence greeted my other than the sounds of Gerald and I. There were no sounds of soldiers running around, the burning building, nothing. It was eerie considering a government building had been destroyed during a robbery.  
“They scattered around when the explosion sounded,” he replied after I pointed it out to him. “It was pretty funny watching them run around like chickens with their heads cut off.” We both laughed before I realized something.  
“How… Did you see them run around,” I asked, “but didn’t see the explosion?”  
Gerald suddenly looked nervous. “U-uh, w-well, I-I-”  
“Gerald…?” I asked cautiously. I hobbled over to my friend. Suddenly, I was hit in the gut with enough force to knock the wind out of me. I violently coughed, falling to the ground.  
“You just couldn’t keep quiet, could you? You never shut up.” Gerald was hovering over me, fists at his sides. The hatred in his eyes made me want to curl up into a ball and die just to get away from it.  
“W-what are you doing?” I tried to sound threatening but it came out stuttering. Gerald let out a soft chuckle.  
“Something I should have done a long time ago.” He spread his arms wide. “Come on in boys, she’s all yours.” The door behind him creaked open as soldiers began to swarm the room. I tried to jump to my feet, only to scream as white-hot pain raced up my leg once more. I was forced to my knees by the soldiers behind me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a soldier hand a bag to Gerald.  
Money. He turned in a fellow group member for money.  
He looked back at me as he walked out. “It won’t make you happy,” I spat at him with as much venom as I could muster. Gerald smirked at me before walking out, leaving me to die.  
“We were told to take you in alive,” the man who gave Gerald the money spoke, “However…” He snapped his fingers and I was forced to the ground. I cradled the stone to my chest, protecting it as best I could. I had no clue how I was still holding onto it or why, but I knew that I couldn’t let them have it.  
“No one would complain if you were killed while resisting arrest.”  
Fear filled my body as adrenaline pumped through my veins. Depression washed over me, swallowing me whole. I was almost gone when I felt something stir in me that made me want to fight, to live not just survive. I was not going to die here at the hands of the government. Not at least without a fight.  
I jumped up, one hand ready to punch and the other wrapped around the stone. I let loose the best battle cry I could make before rushing the man. My plan was to punch him in the throat then knee him in the balls and run as fast as I could.  
Before I could do anything, the man’s arm snapped up. My brain barely had time to register the gun before he pulled the trigger. The shot sounded, but I never felt the pain. The world went black with no warning.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's not Sunday, but I'm jumping the gun a bit on this chapter lol.

I found myself in a never-ending forest. It would have been fine except everything was in grayscale and the canopy blocked out the sky. Funny enough I could still see perfectly fine.   
Better find a way out, I thought. The trees all looked the same no matter the direction. In the end, I decided to pick the old-fashioned way.   
“Eeny meeny miny, that way.”   
When I began the trek, I was feeling pretty good. I felt like I could do anything, like I could walk for hours. About 30 minutes in I still left like anything could happen. An hour in I started to feel my legs turn to lead. After three hours, everything just hurt: my legs, my arms, my gut. Hell, I hurt in places I didn’t even know I had or could hurt.   
When I finally dragged myself out of that forsaken shithole, I could barely move. I couldn’t see myself but I probably looked like some sort of zombie.  
After a long, but well-deserved break, I sat up to look at where I had ended up. It proved useful. I was near some sort of cave, still surrounded by goddamn trees.   
“Fucking shit!” I felt a surge of strength fueled by anger. I picked up the closest rock to me and chucked it as hard as I could. It made a loud sound as it hit the cave. As if clattered down, the ground started to shake. Panic filled me as I struggled to maintain my balance.   
“I-I’m sorry I threw your rock?” I yelled in terror.  
_**Who dares disturb my slumber?**_ The voice didn’t seem to come from any source. It was coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. And I knew it wasn’t just in my head because I could hear birds flying away as soon as it sounded.  
Suddenly, I could tell where the rumbling was coming from as a scaly head emerged from the cave. The head itself was as tall as I was. Horns curved around its head that was as thick as my leg. One of its eyes opened, leveling at my head. The pupil was cat-like while the rest of its body was scaly like a lizard. Except for the outline of wings folded against its sides.   
Oh. My. Gods. I thought. It’s a… “Dragon,” I whispered, reaching out for one of its scales.   
With a slight hiss, its upper lip curled upwards in a snarl, allowing me to see the razor-sharp, ivory-colored fangs. _**Do not touch me human-**_  
I placed my hand on the largest fang that was closest to me. Much to the dragon’s surprise, I slipped my hand down it. I could feel my hand being cut by the fang, but I didn’t care. I was touching a dragon! A dragon!  
“That’s sharp,” I commented with a grin. The eye looked at me with amazement and confusion. After a moment of studying me, it moved away from my hand causing a slight pout to form on my face.   
_**Why are you here human? This time the voice did echo inside my head. It was a deep, almost earthy sound. It was the deepest voice I’d ever heard and my dad had a pretty deep voice.  
“I don’t know,” I responded. “But this better be real. I touched a dragon!” Said dragon gave a small huff.   
_**You seem to like dragons.**_  
“Like them? I love dragons! I’ve always wanted to be one!” All the exhaustion I had was replaced with excitement at what was standing in front of me. The dragon’s eye grew taller and I realized it was raising an eyebrow.  
_**You, a human child, wish to be a dragon?**_  
“Duh!” I shouted. “They’re amazing!” The dragon appeared to be deep in thought for a moment before it spoke once more.  
_**If you wish, I could grant you the power to do so**_, it bargained, but you must do something in return.**_  
I could hardly believe my ears. “I can be a dragon?” I whispered in awe.   
_**Well yes, that will be something you can do but-**_  
“I wanna be a dragon!” I screamed. The dragon was even more taken back by my sudden outburst than what I had screamed, but I could barely contain myself. It taking all of my willpower not to start vibrating with excitement, literally.  
It studied me a moment before blowing out a puff of smoke at me. It seemed to be irritated by my words. _**This is not a game, human. If you wish to accept this gift, you will be charged with a heavy burden and a difficult task.**_  
At the words ‘task’ and ‘burden’ my excitement was dampened. I started to doubt myself when I remembered my gang, the people who had become my new family over the years, the ones who had protected me and I protected them, the ones who had been hurt by the government and still were being hurt.   
“Will… will this help my friends?” The dragon took a slow blink before answering me.  
_**With my guidance and time, you will be able to use this power to protect those who cannot protect themselves and stand alongside the strong to find your place in history. The powerful always have a place in history- whether it is good or bad is up to you.**_  
I let the words sink in. While it didn’t outright answer my question, the words seemed important. They left me with a buzzed feeling like I had drunk seven litters of pop again. (Don’t ask, I won’t tell.)  
Raising my head high, with all the confidence I could muster, I spoke to the creature I believed I would only see in my dreams.  
“I’ll do it. I accept your gift.”  
_**Then step forward, human, and claim what is yours.**_ So I stepped forward, standing as tall as I could. The dragon leveled their face in front of mine before opening its mouth. Looking down its throat, I could see the glow of fire, red-hot, melt your face fire. Even in the face of death, I held no fear, only determination. The fire glowed brighter as the dragon blew onto me.   
__**With this gift, I bestow upon you the powers of your ancestors. Use it wisely in the trails that lie ahead.**  
At these words, I started to feel tingly once more. But it was different from before. Exhaustion swept through my body. The world began to spin and the dragon spoke.  
When you get back, you will find the key, a child. He will guide you to what you need to do.  
That was the last thing I heard before I blacked out.


	3. Chapter 3

I didn’t wake up all at once. I woke up slowly as you would from a bath; slowly and with great reluctance. The first thing I noticed was that the binder around my chest was gone, replaced by bandages. The next thing I noticed was that I was not alone.   
Straining to open my eyes, I found myself face-to-face with a small red-haired child. While it was uncommon to even find someone with naturally red hair, I couldn’t see any roots that would say otherwise. What stood out the most was his eyes. They were a color I had never seen on a person before: Bright yellow, like a cat’s.   
We made eye contact for a few moments. The boy stayed silent the entire time. Our staring contest ended when he quickly looked away. I then saw that the boy was crouched next to me with a compress in his hands.   
Though it hurt to talk, I forced myself to speak. “Who are you?” His hand hovered over my head after placing the compress on my forehead. The boy’s hand seemed to tremble for a second. Then he began to make symbols with his hands and I realized why he was so quiet.  
He was either mute or deaf. Or both.   
Before I could tell the child I couldn’t read sign language, I received the second biggest shock of my life.  
_**I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you!**_  
While he didn’t speak out loud, I heard his voice in my mind, like…. Like something. This child’s voice seemed high pitched like I imagined a child’s voice to be. At least before puberty.   
Had I been able to move, I would have jumped up and run away with no looking back. Since I was unable to, I mustered the best-surprised face I could. This made the kid hunch over, holding his stomach.  
“Are you okay?” I asked, struggling to sit up. I was worried that something had happened to the child, that he had been hurt somehow.   
_**Your face-!**_ I was a bit taken back. Had my face been scared? Had I been disconfigured somehow? I swallowed down the panic that was threatening to crawl up my throat.  
“What about my face?” I was still struggling to sit up when he answered.   
_**You’re making a funny face! **_  
That’s when I realized he wasn’t hunched over in pain. I bit my lip to keep from snapping at him. I always refrained from snapping at most children. Eventually, he stopped laughing and sat up straight.   
_**I’m sorry**_, he apologized, _**I couldn’t help myself. It was just so funny.**_  
“It’s alright,” I told the small child, “Just tell me how I got here please.” I thought for a moment before adding, “And who are you?”  
He nodded. _**My name is Thunder and there was a big explosion. So me and Cloud came to see if anyone was hurt. The fire was dying when we heard a gunshot. Cloud went to investigate it and found you.**_  
“Found me? Alone?” The last thing I remembered was Gerald giving me over to the army. Everything after that was a blur.   
_**I think so**_, the small child- Thunder- told me. _**But you were injured and we couldn’t move you. So I stayed with you while Cloud went to find somewhere to keep you safe. He found a warehouse not too far away.**_   
I looked around the room for the first time, feeling some of my strength return. I then realized that the room I was in did not resemble the storage facility Gerald had betrayed me at, but my room at the base. I was shocked that I had awoken to Thunder beside me and not Rose, who usually tended to the wounds.   
Suspicious, I strained to hear anything outside the room: the familiar sounds of footsteps, something being thrown around, anything that told me people were outside. I was only greeted with silence.   
A bad feeling had settled in my gut, something didn’t seem right. It was never quiet here, even at night. There was always someone walking around for patrols. It’s what soothed me to sleep every night.   
“Where is everyone?” I croaked out. Thunder gave me a confused look.   
_**It’s just me and Cloud here?**_ He said. _**There’s no one else here.**_  
“That’s impossible,” I told him. “Who let you in?”  
_**We let ourselves in**_, Thunder said defensively. _**There was no one here.**_ I was about to snap at him when the sound of footsteps echoed through the room. I tensed up, immediately on alert. Thunder also tensed, his shoulders slouching and tilting his head as if he was listening. Then a toothy smile broke on his face.  
_**Cloud’s back!**_ Without another word, the child ran out of the room and towards the approaching footsteps. There was a dull thud that sounded not long after that was followed by an ‘oof!’ _**You’re back!**_  
“Come on kid,” a male voice chuckled, “You’re acting like I abandoned you.”  
_**I was worried!**_ Thunder whined.   
“I know, I know. Now, how about we check on our patient?” As this was asked, the curtain was pulled aside to reveal Thunder with a teen about my age. His hair was short and white, looking like he had just got out of bed. His skin was as dark as mine, but his looked like a tan.   
The teen gave me a slow blink when he saw I was awake. “Oh, hello.”  
_**They’re already awake Cloud**_, Thunder said sheepishly.   
“How did you get in here?” I demanded.   
“Well the front door was open, so we walked in,” He said confused. “I mean, isn’t that how normal people go through doors?”  
“You shouldn’t have been able to just waltz through the doors,” I snapped. Cloud looked taken back.  
“I was carrying you. And I’m a lot stronger than I look,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. I scowled, my gaze turning into a piercing glare. Thunder shrank behind him, cowering as Cloud’s arm stopped. He gave me a confused look once more. “What?”   
“Did you just call me fat?” Cloud’s eyes widened as he realized his mistake. Thunder shrank back even more.  
“No! No! That’s not what I- I’m not saying you’re- you’re really light- I just meant-!” He gave up with a loud groan, shoving his face into his hands. “I’m so sorry, just forget I exist…” I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.  
“You do know that this is the home of the MgRonald Boys right?”  
Cloud shrugged, not moving his head. “Not anymore… There’s been no sign of anyone in the week we’ve been here…”  
“Wait, week?” I looked between them both. Thunder wouldn’t look me in the eyes, staring at the wall and Cloud was still hiding his face. I gripped the sheet tightly. “How long?”   
Cloud raised his head, his eyebrows knitted together. “How long?”  
“How long was I out?”  
“A little over a week,” he stated. “You had a fever that kept you under for a bit.” I gritted my teeth together.  
“That’s it!” Both the boys were startled by my outburst and even more when I started getting up.  
“Hey wait, what are you doing?” Cloud demanded.  
“To find my gang,” I snapped. I pushed past him, expecting to find some kind of resistance. However, Cloud made no move to stop me.   
_**But you’re still hurt!**_ Thunder protested. He grabbed onto the back of my shirt and tugged hard. Surprisingly, I stumbled back a few steps because of this.   
“Hey! Let go kid!”  
_**No! You need rest!**_ Thunder chastised. Despite his age and size, he managed to drag me a few inches back into the room. I dug my heels into the cold, cement floor to stop me from going any further. Thunder was still struggling to get me back into the room though.  
“Damn Thunder,” Cloud said, impressed. “How strong are you?”  
I ground my teeth together, grabbing the door frame with a tight grip. With a grunt, I slowly forced my way through. Cloud simply stepped aside, letting me struggle with the small child determined to force me back into bed. He seemed amused by my increased struggling, which made me want to be free more.   
Fueled by my growing dislike of Cloud, I managed to force my head out of the room. What greeted me would give me nightmares for weeks.   
Red paint was splattered over the walls, contrasting with the dull grey behind them. Boxes by the windows were destroyed and covered in the same stuff. Some of the curtains were torn down, now dyed with a sickening red. It took a moment for my brain to realize that the paint was too red, that I was looking at dried blood. Windows were smashed outward, not in. Like someone had tried to escape but failed.   
The shock caused my brain to halt and Thunder’s pulling made me fall on top of him. He somehow managed to move out of the way of my body before I crushed him. I was not as lucky or maybe I was. Cloud seemed to realize that I wasn’t going to catch myself so he did it for me.   
Finding myself in the arms of someone I just met was startling. Hearing my heartbeat in my ears after locking eyes with his deep blue ones was even more startling. I was about to push him away when my eyes darted back to the horrors just outside. My breath caught in my throat and I felt a prickling behind my eyes. I quickly covered my eyes with my arm to cover up my quickly tearing up eyes.   
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. But I didn’t know who I was apologizing to.


	4. Chapter 4

It took me a while to calm down. The entire time Cloud held me, rubbing my back and comforting me. By the time I stopped crying, my eyes felt sore and puffy. I felt a tug on the arm covering my face. I moved it to see Thunder handing me a rag. Despite it being dirty, I still wrapped it around my hand to wipe my eyes.   
“Thanks,” I mumbled once I was done. I felt exhausted both mentally and physically. All I wanted to do was curl up in a ball until my inevitable death. Life is a bitch though. All I succeeded in doing was falling asleep after another round of crying.   
Cloud didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he seemed all too happy to take care of me while I was practically immobilized. Thunder made sure I was warm and comfortable throughout the night. Most of that day was a blur for me. I was in too much shock for my brain to process much.  
Before I knew it, the day had turned to night and I was waking up with the sun. I felt a weight on my chest, I looked down to see red hair. Without knowing much else, I already knew that it was Thunder laying on me. I had a vague memory of Thunder trying (And failing) to sneak into my room. While I normally hate being touched, I figured he had a nightmare. (And he was begrudgingly too cute to say no to)  
I carefully detangled myself from the small child and stepped into the main room. Cloud was still nowhere to be seen, but the room had been cleaned. The walls were washed free of the horrors. The destroyed boxes were gone along with the bloodied curtains. The glass had been swept up as well and disposed of. No matter how much the room was changed, I could still see the horrors that happened here when my eyes closed.   
The sound of footsteps alerted me to the presence of someone. I turned to face the newcomer when I realized it was just Cloud. There was a thin layer of sweat covering his forehead, suggesting he had been doing something physical. The smell of soap told me he had been washing something else.   
“You’re awake.” It was more of a statement than a question. I gave a grunt in response as I forced myself to look away from his chiseled chest. I always was a sucker for abs, which explained almost all of my past relationships. (I refuse to talk about them)  
“What were you doing?” I asked as he walked past.  
Cloud gave a shrug. “Cleaning up the place,” he told me, “It was disgusting and it seemed to upset you so…” He let his sentence die when he turned to face me, letting me fill the blanks.   
“We just met, why would you help me?” I demanded. I had been suspicious of Cloud ever since I first met him. He didn’t look like he was the type that would just be wandering by an exploding building in the middle of the night. He didn’t even look like someone who lived on the street for even a day.   
“Give me your hand,” I told him. Cloud gave me a confused look.  
“Why?” I rolled my eyes and grabbed his right hand. “Hey!” he yelped as he stumbled forward.   
Ignoring his protest, I inspected his hands. Just as I suspected, there were no signs of previous blisters or scars. As far as I could tell, Cloud had never worked a day in his life. Hell, his nails were perfectly manicured, topped with a coat of clear nail polish.   
“You know if you wanted to hold my hand, you could have just asked,” he…. flirted?  
“Okay, who the hell are you?”  
“Uh, what do you mean?” he asked. “I’m Cloud.”  
“Well you haven’t done a day's work in your life I’m guessing from your hands.”  
“Hey! I moved the boxes and the glass!” he protested.   
“Maybe so, but before today you haven’t lifted half your body weight or gotten a blister,” I told him narrowing my eyes. “And the only way you could ever do something like that was if you were rich, or one of the palace pets.”  
His blue eyes suddenly turned icy. The anger was clear in his voice as he snapped at me. “I am not a palace dog!”  
The sudden anger made me raise an eyebrow. “O…. kay then. Not a palace… dog.”   
He took a deep breath, seemingly realizing that he had lost his temper. Cloud rubbed the back of his neck, looking ashamed slightly.  
“I, uh, got breakfast if you want to wake up Thunder,” he told me eventually. I simply nodded, heading back towards my room. Surprisingly, Thunder was wide awake. I figured it was from a nightmare because of how scared he was. He was trembling from head to toe, his knuckles turning white from clutching the blanket so hard.  
“Hey, what’s wrong kiddo?” I asked, lowering my voice. I had hoped by doing so I could get him to open up. It usually worked on the younger children in our gang who suffered from chronic nightmares. This was one of the few times it didn’t work as Thunder’s only response was shaking his head furiously. Time for plan B, I thought.  
Without saying another word, I gently made my way to the small child. He tensed when I came up behind him, but relaxed when I pulled him up onto my lap. I wrapped my arms around him carefully, being gentle as well as firm. I let Thunder squirm around on my lap so he could get comfortable. Once he rested his head on my chest, I rubbed his back and began to sing.   
It was a song from a woman who sang to me when I was kept up by anything. I didn’t remember what she looked like, I do remember her actions and what she did for me: Calming me down with a song and got coco, lulling me back to sleep after a nightmare, comforting me when I became hurt.  
Thunder calmed down by the time the song ended and was starting to fall asleep. I gently shook him to let him know that breakfast was ready. He then spoke for the first time that morning to tell me he wasn’t hungry. While my stomach disagreed, I let him stay in my lap for a few minutes before my stomach growled. We decided that it was time to eat and finally got up.  
I never realized that Cloud was listening us just around the corner.


	5. Chapter 5

Cloud avoided me for the next few days. I figured it had to do with the fact that I had caught him eavesdropping. I was still suspicious of the white-haired man’s origin, but I had to trust him if I wanted to find my gang.

Thunder became a bit clingy towards me after our little cuddle session. I didn’t mind much. After all, it was nice not waking up alone. And Thunder didn’t try to follow me to the bathroom or come with me on my scavenging sessions, so he knew his boundaries. 

After three days of avoiding me, Cloud finally broke the ice. 

“Hey! Sky!” he yelled after me. I was on my way to the outer city to scavenge for food when he stopped me. I turned towards him as he paused to catch his breath. “You know… you’re really fast.”

“Cut the flattery,” I scolded, suppressing an eye roll. “What do you want?”

Finally catching his breath, Cloud took a deep breath. “Let me come with you!” he blurted out. I was not phased one bit by his sudden enthusiasm, however. 

“No. You’ll only get us caught and killed,” I added quickly seeing his disappointment. I may be a sarcastic little shit but I was not a sadist. Taking pleasure in other people’s suffering was wrong. Especially if it was a kink.

“Oh come on!” Cloud whined. “Please? I hate how I’m always the one dragging us down! Even Thunder helps out more than me!”

It was true. Despite his young age, the small child was well versed in the ways of mother nature. As far as I could tell, there wasn’t a single plant he didn’t know the name of or its usage (good or bad). Which was a lot because we’d found nearly 50.

“You have a job,” I told him. I place a hand on his shoulder. Cloud gave me a skeptical look. 

“What job is it?” he asked. I gave him a wide grin as I answered.

“Being the bait for the Emperor’s Dagger when they find us.”

Cloud rolled his eyes. “That’s so thoughtful,” he said sarcastically.

“I know right?” I responded. “But seriously, if I were to take you out the way you were now we’d be killed within the hour.”

“I’m strong,” Cloud defended himself.

“But you’re not sneaky,” I told him, “or very quiet.”

Cloud let out an insulted huff as he protested, “I can be sneaky.”

“No, no you can’t,” I deadpanned. “You woke me and Thunder at least four times last night alone.”

“I-I didn’t get up last night,” he said nervously.

“Well you were making a shitton of noise,” I complained. “Therefore that makes you a liability.”

“I’ll just follow you if you don’t bring me,” he retorted with a smirk. 

“Do that and you’ll be lost with no chance at finding your way back alive.” I pretended to be more interested in my nails than in Cloud’s narrowing eyes. 

“You wouldn’t do that,” he said. “Thunder would be upset if you did.”

I shrugged. “I’ll just make up a story about how you died stupidly.”

Cloud gave me a look of disappointment and I tried not to laugh. It was such a dad look. Plus Cloud was the one making it so it was even funnier. 

“Stop laughing at me,” he scolded. I did I say I tried. “I promise to be sneaky, you won’t even know I’m there.” I gave him an annoyed look.

“You’re not going to drop this until I let you come, will you?”

“Nope,” Cloud replied smugly.

I sighed heavily. “Fine. You make one sound and you’re going right back,” I snapped seeing him start to do a little dance.

“Okay okay,” he surrendered. “Again, you won’t even know I’m there.”

* * *

I knew he was there. I had to show Cloud how to sneak properly. Even then he still made a lot of noise. The entire time I had to do double the work I normally do to make sure we weren’t caught.

You may be asking what we were doing. The answer is simple: we were “borrowing” supplies from some loyal soldiers. It was a lot easier than stealing from the Kingsmen. (excuse me, borrowing) Stealing from them was only something you did if you had a death wish. The Kingsmen were the best of the best, awarded to those loyal to his majesty himself, Emperor Seymour. They had to undergo some sort of rigorous test to make sure they won’t turn or something. Rumors were it had to do with them severing all ties by killing their family.

We made our way towards my usual scavenger spot with an agonizingly slow pace. We had to take so many detours, I swear I had shown Cloud over half the city. Despite my tutoring, Cloud still snuck around as well as a dog chasing a squirrel.

By the time we made it to my spot, it was dark. This was both good and bad because while it meant there was more cover, it also meant that we had to be even more sneaky. Instead of bringing Cloud and risk getting caught, I decided to leave him a few yards away under a discarded tarp.

“It’s been laying in the street water,” he complained as soon as I told him.

“So?” I retorted, “Just flip it over.”

“It’s wet on that side too!”

I whirled on him, my patience reaching a breaking point. I gave him the biggest glare I could muster. To my surprise, an almost animalistic growl came from my throat. Cloud actually took a step back, his hands raised in surrender.

“We will get you new clothes, just stay under the tarp,” I snapped before I could stop myself. Cloud quickly surrendered once more, getting under the tarp without another word. As I walked away, I made a mental note to apologize to him later. As well as get my throat checked out. This was pushed out of my mind in order to focus more on what I had to do.

Quiet as a mouse, I crept along the shadows. Every whisper of sound made me pause for a few moments to make sure no one had heard me before I continued on. As I was sneaking around, I caught some juicy gossip. I’ll only mention my favorite: A guy reading out loud his letter to his wife/fiance, confessing to cheating on her with her brother. I nearly got caught because I was fighting so hard not to burst out laughing. It just seemed like the kind of thing you’d only find in a book.

Eventually, I found what I was looking for, the kitchen. Now usually, they’re only full about one-fourth of the way they’re supposed to be filled. Tonight I seemed to have lucked out. The pantries were stocked so much that they could barely fit the shelves.

I had no clue what was going on. They usually only had the food stocked this much on special occasions, like Christmas or Thanksgiving. But it was the beginning of April, so there was no holiday coming up. While I started to fill the backpack I had brought, the soft padding of footsteps alerted me to someone’s approach. Acting purely on instinct, I hid in the closet cabinet I could hide in.

“I can’t believe that he’s actually coming here!”

“Yeah! It’s a huge honor!” The other guy shouted back just as loudly. The loudness hurt my ears and made me want to yell at them both to shut up. I managed to keep my mouth shut while they continued to chat. Being as quiet as possible, I opened the cabinet door and peered out. Two men stood by the pantry I was taking food out of, eating chocolate bars. They were both rather good looking in buzz cuts. One had brown hair while the other had this dark blue color. Unlike my hair, it seemed to be dyed and by an amateur.

“Did you hear any other juicy news, Tom?” The brunette asks.

Tom, the bluenette, gave a shrug. “If you call a raid juicy news.”

“Ugh, right? Haven’t we gotten rid of enough homeless gangs already?”

“Apparently this one is from the higher-ups.”

“Seriously? Damn, they must have pissed someone off.”

“I don’t know what they did, but it’s at some sort of abandoned warehouse.”

I laughed mentally, trying to calm my nerves. _They’re probably just talking about another gang, I thought_.__

_ _ “Do you know the name of the gang we’re decimating?”_ _

_ _ “It’s the best part,” Tom bragged. “They’re called MgRonald’s Boys.”_ _

_ _ The rest of their conversation droned out as my blood ran cold. There was going to be a raid at my home base. Where all there was to defend it was a small, mute child. I sent a silent prayer to the gods that it wasn’t happening tonight._ _

_ _ “We’d better get ready,” Tom said._ _

_ _ “Right! Can’t wait to give it to that dirty gang!” They started to walk by, startling me out of my trance. I quickly shut the door as quietly as I could as they walked by. I closed my eyes, waiting until the sound of footsteps faded away before climbing out of the cabinet._ _

_ _ As soon as I did, my head collided with something soft. I flinched, closing my eyes again. I slowly lifted my gaze to see the bluenette and brunette from before._ _

_ _ “Well well well, what do we have here?” Tom grinned. “A little stowaway?”_ _

_ _ I stayed silent as his friend spoke. “I say we have a little fun, Tom. What do you say?”_ _

_ _ “That sounds like a swell idea, Jim.”_ _

_ _ As they started to advance on me, I only had one thought in mind._ _

_ _ _Fuck my life.__ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the sudden silence, school has been taking a lot out of me and then I've also been working on some other fics (Twist of Fate and other Ace Attorney ones). But, I do hope you enjoyed this chapter and will continue to enjoy it until the very end!


	6. Chapter 6

I won’t say how I got away. Only that it involved a hella amount of pineapples.

By some miracle, I managed to escape with all my limbs still attached. The first place I went to was where I had left Cloud. I knew I didn’t have long before the soldiers found the unconscious bodies of their friends and raised the alarm. As soon as that alarm was up, the chances of escaping were just as great as me becoming a dragon.

I was in so much of a panic, I nearly ran over Cloud.

“Hey! Watch out!” Cloud whisper yelled at me.

“We need to go now!” I nearly shouted.

Cloud gave me a confused look. “What? Why?”

I opened my mouth to answer, only to spot movement behind him. I slipped behind him and covered his mouth and dragged him into the alley beside us. Cloud started to squirm in my grasp and grabbed my hand covering his mouth. He managed to pry it off with surprising ease.

“What are you doing?” He whispered. “This isn’t very romantic-” I stomped on his foot, covering his pained yelp with my hand.

“Shut up and stop moving,” I growled lowly. For a split second, I swear his pulse skipped a beat. He remained silent, however, as a group of soldiers passed by the alley. Once they had gotten out of earshot, I released Cloud. He immediately scrambled away from me and to the other side of the alley. The white-haired boy was panting like he had just run a marathon.

I stood awkwardly to the side for a few moments. I started to reach out to him before deciding against it. Cloud looked like he was having a panic attack. And when someone is having a panic attack, you give them as much space as you can.

“Uh, you alright?” I asked. Cloud just shrugged me off.

“I-I’m fine,” he said. “Just give me a moment.” I stood to the side (somewhat) patiently. Cloud took a few more deep breaths before straightening himself.

“You better?” He nodded.

“Ye-yeah, sorry about that,” he apologized, “I-”

“You can explain later,” I interrupted him. “We need to leave now.” I grabbed his hand and dragged him along as I ran off. He caught up with me after a few stumbles.

“What? Why?” he questioned again. “What about Thunder?”

“I’m not going to leave that child to take on a full raid by himself,” I snapped at him.

“Wait, raid?”

“That’s what I said!”

“Why are they raiding us?” Cloud demanded. “What did your gang do?”

“They didn’t do anything!” I defended them. “Most of them only stole pocket change! If anything it has to be that stupid gem-!” I let of Cloud’s hand, skidding to a stop. “Oh, my gods…. That gem….!”

Cloud ran back to me once he realized I had stopped. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“It’s that stupid gem!” I grabbed his shirt collar and shook him. “They’re after that fucking gem!”

“Ack!” Cloud grabbed my arms to stop me. “What are you going on about? What gem!”

“That night that you found me, I was trying to steal this-this gem!” I yelled in his face. I no longer cared if we were heard. All I cared about was that stupid red stone.

“But what gem?” Cloud repeated. “When we found you there wasn’t any gem!”

“I don’t know what happened to it after the bomb went off,” I admitted. “It’s mostly a blur, but I know that I had that gem with me when I got out-”

“You think that’s why they’re raiding the warehouse?” Cloud wondered out loud. “Because of some gem?”

“Those people would raid over pushing someone into a puddle,” I told him.

“But-”

“We need to go before Thunder gets killed or worse!” I interrupted with a shout. I shoved past him angrily. Cloud followed me as quickly as he could, which was surprisingly fast. Somehow he even managed to catch up to me.

“If they’re after the gem, then can’t we just give it to them?”

“I would if I actually knew where it was,” I shouted back at him. “Where would I have hidden it if I still had it? The base was a mess that’s now empty!”

“You could have buried it?” The white-haired man cringed from the glare I threw at him. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry.”

“Just hurry before I leave you behind,” I snarled.

Cloud didn’t make another sound the rest of the way back to the base. By the time it came into sight, the moon had risen high in the sky. We also ran into the barricade the soldiers had used to surround the block. My blood ran cold when I realized it was the Emperor’s Dagger, a division of soldiers dedicated to eradicating gangs and groups that seemed like a gang.

“You kids stay back!” One shouted at us. “This block is going to be raided soon! It isn’t safe for someone of your delicacy!”

“I’ll show you delicate-” I started to yell when Cloud clamped a hand over my mouth.

“Hahahaha, sorry about my, er, sister. Her, uh, cat ran in,” Cloud lied through his teeth. “But I’m sure she’ll come back!”

“Ah, my condolences,” the soldier saluted as Cloud dragged me away. As soon as we were out of sight, I promptly began to lick his hand. Cloud gave quiet shriek as he jumped away.

“Why?” he whisper screamed at me.

“That’s for calling me your sister,” I scolded him. “Do that again and when I die I will haunt you from my grave!”

“Okay, fine,” he said. “You were about to get us into a fight with a soldier though. How were you planning on getting us out of that?”

I scoffed, “I could have taken him.”

“With a gun?” Cloud pressed. “I thought you wanted to save Thunder, not get yourself killed.”

“Whatever,” I snapped. “We aren’t going to get anywhere if we keep arguing like this.”

“Then what do you suggest we do? Because we are not getting through that barricade. The entire block is blocked.” Without answering him, I started to walk off. “Hey, where are you going? Isn’t the base the other way?”

“Yes, but if you would be quiet for a moment, I would tell you that there is an underground escape tunnel.”

“Why didn’t you say so sooner?” He yelled as he ran past me. After a few moments, Cloud came back. “Maybe you should lead the way, Sky?”

I sighed before running off. “This way.”

I skidded to a stop before a particular dumpster. Cloud recoiled at the sight of me climbing into it.

“Please don’t tell me we’re getting into that,” he begged. I perched on the edge of the dumpster to look down on him.

“Come on now, pretty boy,” I remarked, “ Don’t tell me you’re afraid of the big bad dumpster, are you?”

“Pfft, what? Of course not! I-I was just…. Just-”

I interrupted him, “Yeah, sure, whatever. Grab my hand and I’ll pull you up.”

“Don’t drop me,” Cloud said as he grabbed my hand.

“We’ll see.” I pulled the white-haired boy into the dumpster with relative ease.

“This is a surprisingly clean dumpster,” Cloud commented. I moved some of the boxes in the back to reveal a hidden tunnel. “Is that the secret you were talking about earlier?”

“No duh, now keep up or stay here,” I told him. “I am not being slowed down by your inexperience.”

“Fair,” Cloud murmured. “I’ll stay here then and keep watch.” With a farewell nod to him, I climbed through the tunnel. I didn’t have far to go, just about a block or so. The whole trip couldn’t have been more than a couple of minutes, but it felt like an hour to me. (This was mostly due to my heart beating and how dark the tunnel was) There were a few times I stepped into something wet. I chalked this up to the Earth’s natural moisture.

Once I was at the end, I pushed the boxes out of the way.

“Thunder!” I called as loud as I could. “Thunder!” I climbed out of the tunnel only to be tackled in a crushing hug. I looked down to see Thunder clinging to me for dear life.

“Hey, what’s wrong kiddo?” I asked while rubbing his back. All Thunder did was point outside the window. When I peered out, I pulled us behind a crate. Now I know why Thunder was so freaked out: There were sentinels, mechanical dogs used during large raids. They were controlled remotely by the Emperor's Dagger and used to keep casualties down. They had all sorts of fancy equipment; including heat vision.

“Okay okay, time to go,” I whispered. “Into the tunnel Thunder.”

_**What about you?**_ He asked. I shook my head and pointed at the tunnel.

“I’ll follow you soon, just get to Cloud, okay? He’s waiting on the other side,” I told him. Thunder nodded then began to climb through the tunnel. Once he was out of sight, I looked for something to cover the entrance to the tunnel.

Before I could though, there was a loud crashing sound. I looked to see that one of the sentinels had jumped through the window. I ducked behind a box to avoid the laser sight.

_Fucking fuck_, I thought. _How am I supposed to get out and cover the entrance??_

I looked around for any solution possible. I did not want to risk the Sentinel following me into the tunnel and end up attacking Thunder or Cloud. But I also couldn’t just let it tear into me, I did want to live. After a bit, I decided it would be best to close up the entrance as I went through the tunnel and hopefully not get its attention. I started to move a crate that seemed big enough as quietly as possible and I prayed to the gods that it wouldn’t make any loud scraping noises.

Of course, that’s immediately what happened.

As soon as I dragged the box, the loud ear-splitting sound rang out, slicing through the silent air of the warehouse. I froze on the spot, my heartbeat even slowing down. I clenched my eyes shut and prayed once more to the gods that by some thin thin chance the sentinel was malfunctioned. 

It was working perfectly fine.

Because of course, it was. It swung its leg at me and I felt the wind hit me as it barely missed. I turned and began to run when its other leg slammed in front of me, cutting off my escape route. I turned as it began to raise its other leg. As it swung, I feasibly tried to dodge. Except, I did dodge. And I dodged good. The arm hit the ground nowhere near me.

“What the fuck?” I questioned, dodging another swing. “WHAT THE FUCK?” I shouted as I kept dodging. I was springing and jumping around like I was a gymnast. Then I thought that I should try hitting back. So I punched it in what could be called the face. It hurt. A lot. I may have cried a little.

The Sentinel took advantage of my dumbassery and slammed one of its arms into my chest, pinning me down. I struggled, trying to escape through the pain, but it was super strong. As it raised its arm for the final blow, my hand found a discarded pipe and I managed to block with it. As the Sentinel raised its arm again, I slammed the pipe into the arm that was holding me and heard a satisfying crack. It shrieked and I wiggled out of its grip.

“Die fucker!” I jumped up and smashed its head in with the pipe. White fluid sprayed everywhere as the mechanisms in its head were destroyed and it fell to the ground, dead.

I stood there, not even panting. I stared at the destroyed Sentinel, the white fluid now pooling around it to form a puddle. I shouldn’t have been able to destroy it, but I was. I don’t even know why; maybe it was defective somehow. My thoughts began to spire downwards in a sea of confusing thoughts and conflicted feelings.

Shouting from outside drew me back to reality. It didn’t matter if there was something wrong with me, I needed to get out of there. Doing a quick sweep around the area, I saw a box big enough to cover the hole. I dragged it over to the entrance of the tunnel. I did not care about how loud it was. I just needed it over there yesterday.

Once I was in the tunnel, I used the hole in the box’s side to cover the hole. I then booked it down as fast as I could crawl. It didn’t take long to reach the end. I hadn’t heard anything from the other side so hopefully, the soldiers wouldn’t find the tunnel until we were long gone.

“Thunder?” I panicked, not seeing the small child in the dumpster. I began to quickly climb over after hearing urgent whispers from the other side. As I was going over the lip, however, I was greeted with a horrific sight.

Thunder’s entire front was covered in blood. Despite the insane amount of blood covering him, Thunder showed no signs of injury. The whispering I was hearing from before was Cloud, trying to figure out where the blood was coming from.

“What the hell happened to him?!” I shouted at the white-haired teen. “He was perfectly fine when I sent him through that tunnel!”

“What are you talking about fine? He was covered in blood when he-” Cloud suddenly stopped, staring at me in horror.

“What? What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Where are you injured?” It wasn’t as much of a question as a demand.

“Uh…. nowhere?”

“Then where is that blood from?” I looked down, ready to scold him for telling a joke at this time. My words stopped dead in my dry mouth, however.

I was covered in a sickening red color too.

Bile quickly ran up my throat. I ran to the side and let it fall to the ground below. It didn’t stop after the first one, more kept coming out. It kept coming out until there was nothing left in my stomach. And even then some. At some point, a hand started to rub my back in circles. I didn’t know who’s hand it was nor did I care.

“I-I’m fine,” I choked out finally. I coughed up some more of the bile, scratching up my throat anymore. I forced out words from my raw throat. “We need to get going before they find us.”

_**Where do we go though?__**_ Thunder asked. __

_ _ “Anywhere,” I croaked out. “The warehouse was our only safehouse so I don’t know…”_ _

_ _ Cloud suddenly piped up. “I think I know a place.” He then helped me steady myself. I was too dizzy from the throw up to be able to walk on my own. Once again, I was too much in a state of shock to really see where Cloud was leading me and Thunder. I do know that it took about an hour. We passed too many blocks for me to count, even managed to get through the gates. We walked some more alongside a dirt road. At some point, Cloud led us to a small house. I still couldn’t focus well though so I didn’t see much of the house as we walked through it. Cloud sat me on the bed and told me to wait before walking off. The blankets were too soft though, softer than anything I felt before. Before I realized it, I had fallen asleep _ _


	7. Chapter 7

_ I was standing in the middle of a textureless room. There were four doors, nothing special about them. Going on a whim, I opened the door to my right. There was a blinding white light that escaped the room. I covered my eyes only to open them to reveal the warehouse, my home. _

_ “How did I get back here?” I asked myself. Looking around, I suddenly noticed something. Circling around me were freshly dug graves. “W-what’s going on?” I backed up into something. I turned around only to scream. _

_ It was Rose. Or more specifically her corpse. Her normally vibrantly pink hair was stained that sickening red color. One of her green eyes was missing, nothing more than an empty socket. Her skin was riddled with bullet holes, making her look like a disgusting piece of swiss cheese. Her arm reached outwards me in weird angles like it was broken in several places. Rose’s mouth opened as I stumbled away and I could see the stub where her tongue should be. _

_ Despite this fact, I could still hear what she whispered out. “Your… fault…” _

_ My blood ran cold. “N-no!” I shouted at her. “I-I didn’t do anything-” I stopped the moment I felt something grabbing my leg. I looked down to see one of my oldest friends, Geoffrey. His neck was split ear to ear, dried blood running down his chest. When he talked, the split would open up, letting me see inside his throat. _

_ “You did nothing,” he whispered out. “You weren’t here.” _

_ “G-get off me!” I screamed. I tried to shake his grip off of my foot. The grip grew tense enough to leave bruises. I realized with a sickening thought what I would have to do to get him off my leg. I turned away as I brought my foot down on his face. There was a loud crack as his neck broke. To my horror his head rolled off to the side, his eyes still locked onto my face. Despite not having a throat, he still continued to speak. _

_ “Your fault…” Suddenly it wasn’t just Geoffrey whispering. A chorus joined in. Tons of voices whispering right in my ear about how it was my fault. How I should have been there. How I could have changed the outcome, stopped everyone’s death. Looking around, I realized that I was surrounded, not by graves but by the corpses of my gang. All of them had various wounds. One had claw marks running down his body, nearly splitting them in half. Another was missing one arm while the other arm was dangling by a piece of skin. The voices start to fill my mind as I kept trying to keep away from the bodies that were my friends. The voices kept getting louder and louder, even though I had covered my ears. The voices got so loud that I couldn’t even hear myself saying “I’m sorry” over and over again._

* * *

I woke up with a jolt. My heartbeat roared in my ears so loud I could barely think. My breath came out in short, rapid breaths. Panic started to crawl up my throat, causing me to grasp my chest. I felt the familiar prick of tears at the corners of my eyes. I closed my eyes tight in a vain attempt to stop them from forming. 

Slowly, I was able to swallow my fear. Once I was able to take deep breaths again, I looked around the room I was in. I didn’t recognize the white walls or tiled floors. I was even in fresh pj’s. I was able to get the weighted blanket off, but the bed was a different matter. It kept trying to suck me back into its soft embrace. But I needed to figure out where Thunder was. And possibly Cloud. 

I cautiously opened the door, looking down the hallway. It wasn’t a neasouating bright white luckily enough but a dim yellow one. I snuck around as quietly as I could because who knew where I was? I sure didn’t know. After about five doors, I finally started to hear voices. I decided to follow them since I had no other clues as to where I was. 

I couldn’t make out the conversation until I was just outside the door. From what it sounded like, it was a news program. 

“... With that gang cleared out, the city is free to build the new research center. And in other news, the police are still on the hunt for suspects in the sudden explosion of a warehouse almost two weeks ago. The suspect they first believed committed this act was cleared of charges during an interrogation. We, of course, won’t be releasing his name.”

Deciding I’ve had enough time eavesdropping, I slowly opened the door to look into the room. The tv hologram stand was to the left of the room, while the other side was a lounge chair that spanned the entire wall. Draped over one arm, was a familiar white-haired teen. Cloud. Thunder was curled around something on the other side of the couch. 

I quickly walked between Cloud and the tv hologram. The sound of my footsteps must have woken him up because he lazily opened his eye. 

“You’re awake…?” he asked. I huffed in response.

“No, you’re dreaming,” I responded sarcastically. Cloud flashed his white teeth in a smile. 

“I’m glad to see you’re feeling better,” he sat up, “You were pretty out of it most of the walk here. Thunder-.”

“Yeah yeah, whatever,” I interrupted him. “I want to know where we are, how you knew this place, and who the hell dressed me?” I said the last part while gesturing to the baby blue top and bubble gum pink bottoms.

“Er, well, you were really out of it,” Cloud said. “I didn’t want to put you or Thunder to bed covered in blood… Thunder offered to help so we made you a bubble bath.”

It took me a moment to respond to him. “What about the where and why we’re here?”

“We’re in a summer cabin,” Cloud responded, “I don’t really think it matters who owns it.” I narrowed my eyes at his obvious attempt to brush off the question. I leaned in closer to his face. Cloud suddenly tensed up, almost curling into a ball on the couch. His eyes widened slightly and I almost missed the quick fearful look in his blue eyes. 

“What are you hiding?” I lightly growled at him. This time, I could clearly see the flash of fear that appeared across his face. He pressed his lips together in a small line. His eyes refused to stay on one spot for too long. 

“I-I’m not hiding anything,” he finally said with a trembling voice. “A-and could you please get out of-of my face?” I scoffed but straightened out. The demeanor around him immediately relaxed. I even think he released a breath. 

“But yeah, you’re hiding something,” I crossed my arms, “It’s just as obvious as your attempt to brush off the question.”

“It-it’s nothing,” he stuttered out. All I did in response was begin to tap my foot. Cloud sighed, looking down. “You’re not going to let it go are you?”

“Nope.”

“Okay…” He took a moment to take a breath before finally looking up. “Don’t hate me, but…… it’s my parents’ summer home…” I stood there, looking at Cloud in shock. Cloud suddenly looked really nervous. “Uh……. Sky? You okay?” He waved his hand in front of me and I was able to snap out of it. I scowled at him. 

“So you’re parents are rich?” Cloud slowly nodded. “So you’re one of the palace pets, huh?” The white haired male’s eyes grew dark with pure anger. My eyebrows shot upwards as I took a step back. 

“Don’t call me that!” 

Rustling brought both our attention to our right, where Thunder was starting to wake up. The bristling anger coming from Cloud evaporated almost instantly. We were both quiet until we were sure that Thunder had fallen back asleep. I sighed, running a hand through my short hair. 

“Look, I’m sorry, alright?” I admitted. “I won’t call you that again. But… seriously? You’re one of the privileged ones? One of the ones who can kidnap abandoned kids and torture them?” Cloud sighed.

“You know it’s not like that, right?” He pointed out. “I’m pretty sure it was pretty close to how normal people live.”

“Yeah, I’m sure it was in between the killing and caviar,” I retorted. Cloud flinched visibly when I said this. This only caused my own suspicions to skyrocket. 

“W-we don’t do that,” he stuttered out. 

“Riiiiight,” I said suspiciously. Cloud began to rub his arm. 

“L-look, they won’t be here, so we’re safe here for a few months,” he said looking away. “We can stay here as long as we need.”

“Mhm, and I’m sure you’re not planning on doing anything to us.” Cloud sighed, laying down on the arm of the couch. 

“Believe whatever you want, but I’m not planning anything. I mean you both no harm.”

Before I could say anything more, something shiny hit me in the eyes. I flinched, rubbing them as I stepped back. I cursed lightly then began to look for what the sun was shining off of. It didn’t take long. 

Thunder had shifted in his sleep again. His blanket had slipped just enough to reveal a familiar red and black object. My blood ran cold upon seeing it’s bumpy surface, 

“What the hell is that?” I asked. Cloud looked startled at my calm tone.

“Are you talking about what Thunder is cuddling with?”

“No, I’m talking about the clothes he’s in,” I mocked him. “Yes I’m talking about what’s in his arms!”

I saw Thunder’s eyes flutter open as he stirred again. Both me and Cloud froze as he lifted his head to sleepily look at us. Thunder blinked, looking at me then Cloud then back to me. This happened a few times before Thunder sat up, the objected still clutched tight in his arms. 

** _Are you two fighting?_ ** He asked. I was taken back by his nonchalant attitude towards our raised voices. Cloud, on the other hand, looked mortified.

“What? No, of course not,” he quickly responded. “Sky just seems _ concerned _about what you’re holding.” Thunder looked at me with fear.

** _Don’t take it_ **, he said. I grew even more confused. 

“Uh, I’m not?” I told him. “It’s just- where did you get it? Did you find it?” Thunder shifted, looking uncomfortable. He dropped his gaze to look at the floor. “Thunder?”

** _I-I found it_ ** , he admitted, ** _about a week ago. I hid it in my backpack._ **

At this, I felt a mix of emotions: confusion, anger, and suspicion. A week ago was when I was unconscious with a fever. He would have found the gem then and hid it. But where was the backpack when I woke up? I didn’t see him wearing a backpack when we left either. So either he was covering up something or was helping cover up for someone. 

Could he be covering up for Cloud? Was this gem Cloud’s family’s? Was this entire “safe house” just a place to keep me in one place so they could capture me? Why was that gem seemingly always at the center of everything?

Instead of outright saying this, I knelt down to Thunder’s level. I cast a light glare at Cloud before looking Thunder in the eye. He was looking everywhere but my eyes. Thunder slightly flinched when I put a hand on his shoulder. I took the hand off almost in instinct. 

“You know it’s bad to lie right?” I said gently. Thunder suddenly cowered, curling around the gem more. Cloud tried to step forward, probably to comfort him, only to run into my outstretched arm. He gave me a confused look and I shook my head. I then turned back to see that Thunder had put his arms around his head in a position I had seen before. 

He was trying to protect his head from being hit.

His actions struck a chord in me. For some reason, Thunder thought I was going to hit him. Why he suddenly thought that I would, I don’t know. I did have some suspicions. Taking a deep breath, I slowly pried Thunder’s hands away from his face. I was greeted with a look of terror as he shrunk into himself more.

“Hey kid, you’re fine,” I told him gently. “You’re safe. No one’s gonna hurt you.”

“Yeah, buddy, no one’s around for a few miles,” Cloud added.

It took a while, but we finally got Thunder back to normal. Well, normal-ish. He still wouldn’t look me in the eyes. Despite what had happened earlier, I decided to ask Thunder about the gem again at a later time. I had to know where he got it and where it had been. This thing had caused me to…. Well, I don’t really remember exactly but it was something bad. I _ had _been rendered unconscious and running a fever.

“You alright?” I asked. Thunder slowly nodded. He was clutching the gem tightly once more, acting like it was a holy bible or something. I slowly placed my hand on his shoulder once more. He slightly flinched but relaxed when I started rubbing small circles. 

** _I’m sorry_ **, he told us after a while. 

“Hey don’t worry about it,” I said. “It wasn’t your fault.” Thunder was still sulking, though he looked a bit more relaxed. After a few moments, I came up with a way to cheer him up. “I’ve got an idea.” Thunder looked up at me finally.

** _What’s that?_ **

“How about we go explore the house?” I asked. “I haven’t seen most of this house and would love to go explore with you.” Thunder visibly perked up at this. 

** _Alright! Cloud showed me around earlier! I can show you the game room!_ **

“Sounds fun, lead the way.” I stepped back to let Thunder stand up. He was still holding onto the gem, but less tightly. As we stepped out and Thunder was out of earshot, I cast a glare at Cloud. “This isn’t over. Got it?”

Cloud nodded as Thunder told me to hurry up. Without looking back, I followed Thunder down the wooden halls.


	8. Chapter 8

The next day, Cloud approached me. I had been trying to figure out a map. Despite my setbacks, I was still determined to find out where we were. That feeling of not knowing your surroundings may have excited some people but to me, it left me feeling anxious and on edge. 

“Having trouble?” Cloud’s voice made me jump slightly. I scowled before turning back to the map.

“No, I’m doing just fine on my own.” I accentuated my point by loudly straightening the paper. Cloud sighed before taking the map from my hands.

“It might be better if it was right side up.” I begrudgingly took it from him, now the correct way.

“I would have figured it out myself,” I grumbled. Cloud said nothing more on the subject, only sitting next to me. 

“I need your opinion on something.” Before I could protest, the male set a large book on the table. Upon examining it, I found that it was bound in leather. On what I think was the front, was a symbol that I didn’t recognize. “Can you look through this and tell me what you think of it?” he asked. My reply was simple.

“No.”

Cloud looked flabbergasted. “What? Why?”

“I don’t have to tell you why,” I remarked. Cloud gave me a funny look. “What?” I sharply asked.

“Can you read?” 

I glared at him.“Of course I-”

“What does this say?” He interrupted, pointing at a spot on the map.

This time, I was the one flustered. I tried to come up with a lie, but his expression told me it wasn’t working. I angrily slammed the map down. “Fine, I can’t read,” I snapped. “It’s not a big deal, lots of the other ones in the gang couldn’t either.”

“How- nevermind,” Cloud sighed. “I just need your opinion.”

“And how am I supposed to do that?”

“I’ll tell you about it,” he said.

“Am I supposed to just believe you on this?” I asked sarcastically. Cloud bristled a little.

“I’m not going to lie,” he told me. “Why would I lie about something like this?”

I scoffed. “All you rich people are the same: You just love to fuck with the poor.” The white-haired male threw his hands up into the air. 

“Would you stop being so hostile towards me?” Cloud demanded. “Rich people do not like to-to mess with the poor, we do not kidnap or torture!”

“You left out kill.”

“We don’t do that either!” Cloud yelled. “Why are you even being so hostile?!”

“Maybe that’s none of your business!” I yelled back.

“I am the one who is being belittled!”

“My personal history is still none of your business!” I retorted. Cloud let out a frustrated sigh.

“Look just… I won’t lie,” he said. “I have no reason to, nor do I want to. Will you please listen to what I have to say?” I looked at him before sighing myself.

“Fine, but I’m taking what you say with a grain of salt.”

He looked relieved. “Thank you.” He opened the book to a random page. Once he found what he was looking for, Cloud set it back down in front of me. I gave one glance at it before glaring slightly.

“What part of ‘I can’t read’ do you not understand.”

Cloud’s face flushed with embarrassment. “O-oh. Right.” He took the book back and cleared his throat as he began to read. “ ‘Never have I ever come across a more beautiful specimen as what was brought to me by Mr. Jade Smith. Its shine is as bright as the sun, nearly as blinding too. When you shine a light on it, it reflects a rainbow, much like a prism, only in shades of red. A most curious sight.’ ”

“Why should I care about what some old guy has to say?” I interrupted.

“I’m getting to that,” he shushed me. Cloud started up again while I leaned on my hand. “ ‘December 1st, [year], I have made a discovery about the item Mr. Smith brought me. It is a most troubling one, however. Nickolai was messing around in the lab, again, when he accidentally set off the plasma gun. It hit the item unfortunately but, miraculously, didn’t break. Upon inspection revealed that it had not a scratch on it. I began researching-’ ”

I interrupted him by snoring. I was pretending to be asleep so he’d go away. Unfortunately, he just glared at me before continuing louder.

“I began researching the phenomenon when I came across an article about old religions. One in particular caught my eye. It was an old one, pre-dating most, about dragons-” I snapped my head up towards him at the word ‘dragons’.

“There was a religion about dragons?” I blurted out excitedly. Cloud looked surprised. He shrugged after a few moments.

“Apparently,” he said with a smile. “But please stop interrupting me.” I grumbled but complied Cloud started up again. “ ‘-About dragons, where one of the gods, Helios, was said to be the incarnation of the sun itself and whose scales were impenetrable by conventional means. This religion was thought to be the ramblings of a mad man, I no longer believe this to be the case. I believe that what I have in my possession is a scale of one of these beasts.’ ”

“So what you’re saying is that dragons once existed?” I tried to say nonchalantly. I was doing my best to hide my excitement because I remembered I was supposed to be mad at him. Cloud nodded.

“Yeah. And I think what Thunder has might be an egg.”

I stared at him for a few moments as what he said sunk in. Then I laughed. And laughed. And laughed. At one point I fell off the chair and kept laughing. Cloud was just staring at me with a mix of emotions the entire time.

“It’s not a joke!” he snapped.

“Look,” I said through my last fit of giggling. “No one wants dragons to be real more than me. Trust me. But if these ‘Gods’ were real, wouldn’t we have found some proof? This book said he found a scale. Where it is? It’s probably just a story or the ramblings of an old man.” Cloud sighed before nodding.

“Right…” He chuckled. “You sounded pretty diplomatic just now.”

“You take that back,” I hissed. Cloud just laughed and walked away with the book. I stayed at the table, going back to trying to read the map.


	9. Chapter 9

It rained hard that night. 

I’m not sure when it started. I only noticed after a particularly loud  _ Boom! _ sounded. Normally, I love storms; the rain, lightning, everything about them. But for some reason, every semi-loud clap of thunder made me jump. In the end, I gave up on the map and just went to go find some food.

I finally found the kitchen after about ten minutes of aimless wandering. Cloud was already there with Thunder. They were at the stove doing… something. They were both holding something white over and open flame. Thunder was practically drooling all over himself as he stared at it. The corners of Cloud’s mouth kept twitching upwards as he watched him.

“What’cha doin’?” I asked. Cloud jumped and turned towards me. The panic in his eyes disappeared when he saw it was me. 

“Oh, it’s just you,” he sighed in relief. I raised an eyebrow.

“Who else would it be?” Cloud stuttered an excuse. I think it was about a habit, but I shrugged it off. When I walked forward, a smell hit me. A heavenly smell. It smelled of a sugary toasted treat that I would feed to the kids on a summers night when we had them. It smelled of roasted caramel, of gooeyness, of home.

“Are you guys making toasted marshmallows?” I asked excitedly. Cloud nodded. “Why didn’t you get me?”

“I didn’t think you’d want one,” Cloud admitted. I put a hand to my chest as if I was hurt.

“It’s  _ marshmallows _ , of course, I’d want one!” Thunder flinched slightly when I raised my voice. I was confused as to why, as my voice wasn’t harsh or too loud. While I was concerned, I didn’t call him out on it. Yet.

“I’ll remember that next time,” he promised.

“Good.” Cloud handed me a fork and a jumbo marshmallow. I joined both of them in the roasting. It ended up being surprisingly quiet throughout the rest of our “meal”.

The nice, quiet silence was broken by Cloud after the bag had been devoured. 

“So I showed Thunder that book,” he told me. I gave him a confused look.

“What book?” I asked.

Could raised an eyebrow, “The one about the dragons?” I then remembered the conversation we had earlier that day.

“Good for you?” I said, confused as to why he was telling me.

Cloud hesitated before speaking. “I just think that we should look more into it and-”

“Are you really going to bring this up again?” I interrupted.

“Sky, look,” he said after a minute. “I don’t think it was a story. There was too much detail and it was hidden.”

“Aren’t books supposed to be detailed?” I asked. “And what do you mean by hidden?” Cloud scratched the back of his neck.

“I, uh, was trying to find something in the library and fell off the ladder,” he said. “I grabbed the closest thing and it was a book. Turns out it was a lever and I broke it…” I laughed at the image of Cloud falling on his ass. Cloud waited until I stopped to continue. “The lever caused a shelf to pop open and inside was the book.”

“Just because it was hidden doesn’t mean that it was an actual journal. It could have been some sort of secret project,” I told him.

“Sky, I’m telling you,” he said, “this isn’t some sort of book! This has actual people I looked up! Real places! Data! I don’t see how someone would go into this much detail for one book that was hidden away!”

“I think you don’t understand the dedication of some people,” I scolded him.

“Would you just trust me on this? Please?” He yelled. I felt my own anger rising as he continued to yell at me. 

“You haven’t given me a reason to trust you,” I snapped back. “You may have helped me and Thunder, but you also took us to the middle of nowhere. Why would that make me want to trust you?”

“I told you where we are! My parents-”

“Exactly! Your rich parents’ house in the middle of nowhere!” 

“What do my rich parents have to do with this?” Cloud and I were now level. Well, as level as you can be when the person you’re yelling at is a few inches taller than you.

“Well, how do I know that this isn’t some sort of big trap?” I pointed out. “That you aren’t just a really good actor and just buying time for your parents to get here so you can throw us to the wolves?”

“Would I have really kept this charade up this long if it was a trap?!” 

“I don’t know! I don’t even know you! You just expect me to believe that you, a complete stranger, would help someone just out of the kindness of your heart?!”

“Yeah, it’s called Humanity!” Cloud snapped back. I grew extremely angry at this, remembering all the friends I had lost because of rich people like his parents.

“Well, all the rich people I knew seemed to have sold it for money!”

“Keyword, most!”

“That still doesn’t mean that I’ll automatically trust you!”

“Haven’t I- 

At that moment, a loud crack of thunder sounded through the night air. It was so loud I could feel it in my bones. Both me and Cloud shut up and jumped in fright. For some reason, I was left shaking in my shoes after the thunder rumbled away. Cloud took a deep breath then turned back to me. Just as he did that, something behind him caught my attention.

“Look, I’m sorry, I-” I interrupted him, realizing something.

“Thunder ran outside!” In a panic, I pushed past Cloud and out into the storm. Instead of getting angry though, Cloud followed me after realizing it as well. 

As we ran, I suddenly remembered how Thunder had flinched when I raised my voice last time. Guilt almost knocked the wind out of me as I called out for him. Thunder obviously had problems when it came to people arguing loudly. I should have kept my own temper instead of letting it get the best of me. I shouldn’t have picked a fight with Cloud in front of Thunder and scared him.


	10. Chapter 10

“Thunder!” I called out running through the rain. Ironically, thunder would not stop booming. I was too focused on finding the small child to pay attention to where I was going. Suddenly, the hairs on the back of my neck stood straight up. A wave of uneasiness hit me, making me stumble back. At the same time as I did, a streak of lightning occupied the space I would have been in just a few seconds later had I not stumbled back. 

The strike of lightning left me seeing black spots, barely able to see anything in this already shitty storm. This wasn’t the end of my luck though. Because of how heavy it was raining, the ground was extremely slick and easy to slip in. Which is exactly what happened with my sudden change in direction. I slipped and started to slide down, towards what I realized was a cliff overhanging a lake. I tried to grab ahold of anything but it was too muddy. Just as my legs hit open air, a hand reached out and grabbed me by the wrist. I snapped my head up and through the spots I saw Cloud, holding onto me with one hand and to a vine with the other. 

“I’ve got you!” He grunted. Reacting quickly, I scrambled to get to my feet. Once on my feet, Cloud and I worked together to get back to the top of the hill. It took a few minutes but we were able to get there. Adrenaline left us out of breath and tired.

“You okay?” Cloud asked between pants. I nodded, still silent.

“T-thanks,” I said eventually.

“You can’t search for Thunder on your own in this weather,” he told me. “Let me help, we’ll watch out for each other and Thunder.”

I was about to say no but then glanced at the cliff he just pulled me away from. Not only that, I was still having trouble seeing anything. I had heard from Rose that seeing lightning strikes up close could leave someone temporarily blind. I knew that what he said was true. In my current state, I’d be more likely to walk off the cliff again than find Thunder. Bitting back a sarcastic remark I let out a sigh.

“Fine,” I gave in, “But if you try any sneaky shit, I’m leaving you alone in this storm.” Cloud put a hand over his heart and raised the other one.

“Cross my heart and hope to die,” he declared. I rolled my eyes.

“Alright drama queen,” I said sarcastically. “Let’s go find Thunder.”

I decided to let Cloud lead the way. While he was initially confused about it and seemed worried about me, I made sure to just let him know that it was because I didn’t want to be crushed by him when he tripped. Despite how he had, arguably, saved me earlier, he kept slipping around in the mud. I can’t even count how many times I had to catch him or how many times he almost brought me down with him.

We tried to walk in a straight line. Keyword: tried. The gods wanted to screw us over and five minutes later we were back at the cliff.

“Motherfucker!” I cursed. Cloud gave me an amused look.

“We’ll find Thunder,” he assured me. “Don’t worry too much.”

“He may be a smart kid, but if we can barely see an inch in front of ourselves, I think I have every right to be worried!” 

Cloud nodded.

“Right, sorry,” he apologized. My upcoming retort once again died in my throat. I was expecting him to say anything, other than apologize. I was honestly shocked.

“Y-yeah,” I stuttered out. “I mean-”

“Let’s find Thunder?” he flashed a grin at me. Something within me felt weird. Cloud grinning was not something I expect. Especially so soon after our fight. In our continued search, I kept thinking back to the fight and how he seemed to have disregarded it. It made me feel uncomfortable and tense. As we kept searching, the tension seemed to slowly dissipate as my sight slowly grew more clear and our focus grew more and more on finding Thunder. Once again, we eventually made it back to the cliff.

“We need to regroup,” I said, “Try a new direction.” Cloud nodded and looked around.

“Let’s go this way,” Cloud pointed. I agreed and started to follow only to stop. He turned back to me, confused. “What’s wrong?”

I quickly shushed him, trying to hear the sound again. It came again, barely heard over the boom of thunder. It was heavy breathing. It was the same kind of heavy breathing I’d associate with someone crying hard. With a jolt, I realized that I recognized the sound.

“I hear Thunder!” Cloud looked startled.

“What are you talking about?” he asked. “The storm’s too loud to hear anything.”

“I don’t know,” I told him, “I just know I’m hearing him!” I started to search for where the sound came from. It took a minute to realize that the sound was coming from below us. 

Barely remembering to be careful, I scrambled over to the edge. Cloud yelled at me, but I didn’t listen to him. I looked over the cliff and scanned the walls. It took a second to see what I was looking for, a glimpse of a redhead.

“Thunder!” He was hanging onto a tree branch. He was struggling to pull himself up because he was crying. Despite the low visibility, I could tell by the sounds he was making that he was damn near sobbing. I could also see that his wet clothes were clinging to his body, showing just how skinny he was. 

At the sound of my voice, Thunder’s head snapped up.  ** _S-Sky…! _ ** I heard him say. 

“Don’t worry! We’ll get you up!” I reassured him. I turned back to Cloud. “Get a vine like earlier!” He hesitated but grabbed a vine from a nearby tree. He tossed it to me after testing it.

“Be safe!” Cloud said.

“No shit Sherlock,” I lightly snapped. Even though I was feeling terrified, I still knew I had to at least seem strong. Because if I didn’t, Thunder would probably be even more scared. I wrapped the vine around my waist and tied it to a tree before beginning the slow trek down the cliff. Thunder’s noises were even louder, which made me question how Cloud hadn’t heard him before. I mean, yeah, the storm was loud, but I could hear him plain as day. 

“Alright, kid,” I said as I was climbing. “Just hold on for one more minute. Can you do that for me?”

** _I don’t know…!_ ** He cried.

“Just focus on keeping your grip,” I instructed. “I’m almost there.”

I noticed that, despite his best efforts, Thunder was about to lose his grip. In a split second after he lost his grip, I decided against the idea of climbing down and let go of the vine in favor of grabbing his arms. Thunder opened his mouth in what I believe was a mix of terror and shock when I did. 

“Got you! Now don’t let go!” Thunder nodded, tears streaming down his cheeks and he scrambled to get a better grip on me in general.

“Sky! Are you guys okay? Did you get Thunder? Is he safe?” Cloud frantically asked. 

“I’ve got him!” I shouted back. “We’re safe-” And that’s when I felt the vine start to give. “Cloud grab the vine!” I screamed.

“Huh?”

“GRAB THE FUCKING VINE!” I saw Cloud start to grab the vine, realizing what was about to happen but it was too late. The vine snapped just below where he grabbed it. Thunder let out a mentally piercing shriek as we began to fall, onto the rocky coast down below. My first instinct was to protect Thunder, so I made sure I would be the one to take the brunt of the fall. I wrapped my arms tightly around him and adjusted us so that my back was parallel to the ground. 

I shut my eyes tightly and waited for the inevitable impact. 

Without warning though, I felt hands on my waist. My eyes jolted open to see a head of white hair. 

“I’ve got you!” Cloud shouted.

“You idiot!” I screeched. “Now we’re all going to die!” There was a sudden jolt and I realized-

** _We’ve stopped falling._ **

I had no words. Literally. I no longer had any idea what the fuck was going on anymore. One minute, I was falling to my death and (hopefully) saving Thunder. Next, Cloud has ahold of my waist and we were no longer about to die. 

I stayed quiet. I stayed quiet as we began to slowly lower to the rocky shore. I stayed quiet when our feet hit the shore. I stayed quiet when Thunder finally detached himself from me. 

I did not stay quiet when I saw Cloud  _ land _ .

“What the ever-loving FUCK!” I screeched. Thunder once again, flinched but did not look like he wanted to run.

Cloud scratched the back of his neck. “Uh… So you know how Thunder can speak with his mind?”

“Yes!”

“Well, I, uh, can fly?”

“.... You can WHAT.”

“I can fly?” he repeated awkwardly. I stayed quiet. Having trouble comprehending what he said. 

Was his new ability some sort of new tech by the rich? If so, was Thunder an experiment by them? Was Cloud?

“Er, look, I’ll explain later,” he said. “I think it would be best to get Thunder and ourselves out of this rain before we all get sick.” I hesitated but agreed. 

“You’re right. Thunder’s been out longer than us,” I said. As if to agree, Thunder let out a small sneeze. I began to rub his back to help keep him warm. He leaned into me slowly to seek the warmth. “So how do we get back up?” I asked Cloud. “We aren’t exactly near a path.”

Cloud grinned again. “I’ve got an idea,” he said. Cloud sheepishly held out his hand. “If it’s alright with you.”

I looked at his hand then up to him. I sighed and took it. “Fine. Just don’t drop me.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you notice anything with [ ] around it, it means that it's to be replaced with a word or paragraph. If you notice one, please point it out!


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